Strange Bedfellows
by RatherBeAWriter
Summary: It's 1st January, but the new year brings headaches and confusion for Nikki and Harry.


**A/N: So, it's time to dust off my writing hat after a very long break. I have been working on Thicker Than Water, but needed something shorter to get me back into the swing of it, so have turned an old draft into this seasonal one-shot.**

 **Happy New Year!**

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Sunlight began to stream through the gap in the curtains as Nikki lay in the unfamiliar bed with the beginnings of a hangover stirring in her head. She knew whose bed it was, and she could hear him snoring lightly beside her, but she really didn't want to turn round to have it confirmed. She'd rather his identity remained part of the wine soaked haze of the previous night. From the snippets she could remember, the faculty New Year's Eve party they had attended had been a lot more bearable than expected. There was just the small question of what had taken them from discussing the merits of the technological advancements in forensic science with other staff members, to their current situation.

The light seemed to become brighter and she screwed up her eyes and used her arm to shield her face. Her bedmate still hadn't stirred from his slumber and the idea of sneaking out crossed her mind. Perhaps if she was gone before he woke he wouldn't remember she'd been there at all. As soon as the thought formed she felt his arm reach around her, as though he'd heard her plot her escape and was putting a stop to it. She squirmed away from him, simultaneously pushing his arm off her bare abdomen. It was instinctive, but she almost immediately missed the warmth.

And then he was awake.

"Shit," came his croaky, stale alcohol tinged voice as he too moved as far away as the bed would allow at the discovery of who he had attempted to snuggle up to.

"Good morning to you too," Nikki muttered, rolling onto her back now that there was no hope of leaving undiscovered.

"I didn't mean..." he started, rubbing sleep from his eyes and trying to make sense of what was going on.

"It's OK, I wasn't exactly ecstatic to wake up like this either."

"Thanks," he responded shortly, taking his turn to be offended. He attempted to sit up but as the room began to spin he thought better of it and collapsed back into the pillows. Staring up at the ceiling he tried to recall the night before. "Did we... You know?"

"What do you think?" she rolled her eyes.

"Shit."

"Is that all you can say?"

She too was staring at the ceiling, avoiding eye contact with the man on the other side of the void of sheets which separated their territories.

"At least we were safe," he offered as he retrieved a discarded condom wrapper from somewhere among the bedding. Nikki felt her face flush red and she groaned as she pulled the covers over her head, willing the bed to swallow her up. She wished for him to be called to a crime scene; for an earthquake; for his flat to blow up again. _Anything_ that would get her out of this painfully awkward situation.

Like some kind of miracle, a phone rang on his bedside table. She passed it to him as she realised it was his, still without looking at his face.

"Dr Cunningham," he answered, attempting to sound awake and alert.

She cringed at the sound of his name, which provided the final confirmation that she wasn't still drunk and imagining her companion.

"Hi _Leo,"_ he said pointedly, indicating she should pay attention. "Happy New Year to you too."

Leo had left before the bells - she remembered that much. Janet had been at home with a cold and he hadn't wanted her to be alone at midnight.

She turned to face Harry for the first time since waking. He looked rough, she thought, shocked by the dark circles and bags beneath his eyes. And old. She could have sworn he didn't normally have so many lines across his forehead. Had she also withered into a dehydrated shell of herself after one night of drinking?

"Nikki?" Harry mirrored their boss, widening his eyes at her in search of some assistance. She shook her head, just in case he thought telling Leo that she was with him was a good idea. "Emmm," he stalled. "She's... she met someone last night. I think she went home with him."

He attempted to shrug apologetically, instantly regretting what he had said, but her foot had already collided hard with his shin.

"Owww!" he cried, dropping the phone.

"Are you with someone?" They both heard Leo's voice inquire from the phone which had fallen between them. Harry scrambled for the device and pulled it to his ear.

"Emm, yes," he replied sheepishly, shaking his head and pressing his thumb and forefinger against his eyelids. "Could I speak to you later? I'll let you know if I hear from Nikki. I'm sure she's fine."

He ended the call and sighed.

They remained silent for an uncomfortably long period of time.

"I should go," she said at last. "Leo's probably getting worried that I've been murdered by my mystery one night stand."

Her tone was smarter and sharper than she felt. Where was her phone? And her handbag for that matter? She needed to text Leo before he started to believe Harry's story.

Harry nodded but didn't say anything, while she slipped out of bed, immediately crouching to the floor as she became very aware of her own nakedness. She found her dress and pulled it on hastily, glad to be covered up in some way. However, after several fruitless minutes scrambling around the bedroom, she still couldn't find the rest of her clothes. She sighed, admitting defeat.

"Harry?" she asked, already cringing at the question. "Have you seen my underwear?"

"What does it look like?" he asked sitting up in bed and scanning the room rather unhelpfully.

"Why? Am I likely to find someone else's knickers scattered across your bedroom?" she responded sarcastically.

"No, of course not, but what colour am I looking out for?"

His body hurt too much to search without further guidance.

"Never mind," she muttered, unwilling to discuss the subject any further. "I'll just get going."

She had found her bag and jacket, discarded just outside of his bedroom door, and was in the process of pulling on her shoes. The balls of her feet burned the instant she forced them into the uncomfortable heels. This was going to be a long journey home.

"Wait," Harry said, realising that despite what they seemed to have done, his best friend still demanded his respect. "Let me call you a taxi? Or I could make you some breakfast?"

"I think it's better that I leave now."

Nikki looked all around the room and then at her increasingly painful feet. Anywhere but his face.

"OK, but please let me know when you're home?"

"I'll see you later," she replied quietly, as she quickly left the room and then his flat.

Harry fell back against the pillow, his head thumping; Nikki felt the cold air hit her face as she left the building. And at the same moment they realised just what they had done.

"Nikki!"

Harry was at his window, looking like he might vomit or lose his balance and fall out. The logistics of sending a text or making a call had been too much for him.

"Come back inside. I'll make you a coffee and we can start this morning over again."

She nodded, feeling something other than horror for the first time since waking.

"I'd like that."

It wasn't the freshest of starts to the new year but that didn't mean there wasn't a possibility of a new beginning.


End file.
